Car construction



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CAR CONSTRUCTION Haul/afd,

Patented Apr. 4, 1939 UNITED STATES CAR. CONSTRUCTION David Hindahl, Chicago, Ill., assignor to Rodger Ballast Car Company, Chicago, Ill., a corporation of Maine Application August 18, 1937, Serial No. 159,652

6 Claims.

This invention relates to improvements in dump cars of the type having discharge hoppers and control doors for the hoppers which selectively direct the discharge of the lading either 5 inwardly between the rails of the track or outwardly beyond the rails of the track.

It is an object of this invention to provide a dump car of the type referred to which is better adapted for use both as an ordinary hopper car 10 and as a ballast car for discharging ballast along the track inwardly and outwardly of the rails.

Whereas dump cars of certain constructions now in use are employed both for carrying various types of lading such as coal and the like, in

the manner of ordinary hopper cars and at the same time for carrying ballast for discharge inwardly and outwardly of the rails of the track, certain structural characteristics of such cars adapting them for such dual use have resulted in a sacrifice of certain advantages which would otherwise be attainable, especially in the use of such cars as hopper cars.

The sacrifice of one advantage is due to the fact that when used as ballast cars, the hoppers must have relatively long discharge openings with controlling doors pivoted on axes extending longitudinally of the carin order that the lading may be selectively directed either inside or outside of the rails. Thus when cars so constructed are used as ordinary hopper cars, and the lading is discharged into receiving bins, the discharge openings are too long to adjust the flow of the lading to the usual receiving openings in the track provided at freight yards, unloading stations, coal bins and the like. The customary openings in the track now in common use for receiving lading from hopper cars are usually relatively short and are adjusted in length to the transverse discharge opening type of hopper.

Prior to this invention, no remedy for this difficulty has been provided because the inside and outside doors used for discharging ballast with the constructions adopted have necessitated long, narrow discharge doors which could not be structurally modified to adjust them to the relatively short receiving openings referred to.

Accordingly, it is an object' of the present invention to provide a new andV improved construction for dump" cars having modied hopper and door constructions which provide for the car relatively short discharge hopper outlets which readily accommodate themselves to the receiving openings in the track, now in common use in freight yards, coal bins, and like places, and at lili;y the-same time provide strong and durable doors for selectively discharging ballast or other lading either inwardly or outwardly o'f the rails of the track.

In applicants' previous Patent No. 1,398,517 of November 29th, 1921, a dump car is disclosed having control doors of the type adapted for se-` lectively discharging ballast or other lading either inside or outside of the rails as may be desired. In the patented structure, the main door consists of a frame having transverse beams or 10 supports, shedding surfaces located on top of the beams and a secondary door pivoted to the frame for discharging the lading outwardly of the rails when the main door is held in closed position. This secondary door pivots downwardly from I' the frame and necessarily is limited in length to that which can be accommodated between adjacent transverse beams of the frame of the door proper. It is either necessary to employ a plurality of secondary doors, one for each space between adjacent transverse beams of the door, or a modified frame construction for the main door with the' frame parts located on the upper side of the plane of the door.

The use of a plurality of secondary doors in the space between adjacent beams is satisfactory L' for many purposes, but produces a series of obstructions across the discharge opening and a1 series of cracks between adjacent secondary doors when the secondary' doors are in open R5, position. 'Ihese cracks' permit the lading to spill over the edges of the secondary' doors and fall on' the track in' a manner which is undesirable.

When the beams are on the upper side, as illustrated in applicants Patent No. 1,625,998, then one elongated secondary door may be employed which can drop down freely to discharge the lading without spilling, but here also the frame provides an obstruction in the path of now of 40 the lading. Whereas this construction is satisfactory for many purposes, the placement of the beams on the upper surface of the door also requires that the beams' occupy the space within the hopper and furthermore necessitates notch- 45 ing of the slopesheets at the lower edges of the hopper for accommodating the beams when the door is in closed position.

Another consideration is that when doors having their frame construction on the upper sur- 50 face are employed, the' maximum capacity of the car is sacrificed because" the upper edge of the cross beam of the frame located at the edge of the door occupies a more elevated position than does the upper surface of the door itself, and

this surface which contacts the lower edges .of the end slope sheets of the hopper determines the lowest possible location for the lower ends of the slope sheets. Inasmuch as the angularity of the slope sheets is determined by other factors, the use of doors with the frame on the upper surface results in the placement of the entire end slope sheets of the car at a more elevated position and consequently a sacrifice in the capacity of the car. Avoidance of this difficulty cannot be satisfactorily obtained by merely moving the end beams of the door frame inwardly of the edge and thus out of contact with the lower edge of the end slope sheets because the inward presence of the end beams of the frame will provide an obstruction to the free flowing of the lading when the door is opened.

Another characteristic of the construction disclosed in applicants Patent No. 1,625,998 is that the hoppers are too long to readily discharge in a satisfactory manner, lading such as coal and the like, into the ordinary receiving openings in coal bins, freight yards and similar places. As above mentioned, the receiving openings in bins of this type are usually of a length determined 'by the discharge openings on ordinary hopper cars which have relatively short transverse discharge openings.

The cars of applicants Patents Nos. 1,398,517 and 1,625,998 in their disclosed forms are not adapted for modication to form cars having a plurality of smaller hopper openings because to do so would involve either a sacrifice of car capacity or a sacrifice of free and unobstructed discharge of the lading.

In view of the above, it is a further object of this invention to provide a car which has a plurality of shorter longitudinal discharge hopper outlets each equipped with a door which comprises a frame and a secondary door, in which the end frame members of the main door are beyond the side edges of the secondary door, all of which provides a free and unobstructed discharge and a satisfactory, strong door construction together with maximum car capacity, and at the same time maintains all of the desirable features of the inside and outside discharge type of dump cars.

Other objects of this invention not specifically enumerated will readily appear to one skilled in the art as the following description proceeds. This invention will be better understood by referring to the accompanying drawings of one embodiment of this invention and in. which:

Figure 1 is a fragmentary side elevation of a railway car constructed in accordance with this invention;

Figure 2 is a fragmentary transverse sectional view in elevation of the car shown in Figure 1 disclosing the doo-rs adjusted for discharging the lading between the rails;

Figure 3 is a similar fragmentary transverse sectional view in elevation of the same car showing the doors adjusted for discharging the lading to the sides of the rails;

Figure 4 is a fragmentary plan View of the same car disclosing the inside structure of the hoppers;

Figure 5 is a plan view of a door constructed in accordance with this invention;

Figure 6 is an elevational View partly in crosssectio-n of the door disclosed in Figure 5 and taken on the line 6-6 and looking in the direction of the arrows;

Figure '7 is a side elevational view of the door disclosed in Figure 5; and

Figure 8 is a perspective view with portions broken away, of the door disclosed in Figure 5.

The various novel features of this invention will be particularly pointed out in the appended claims, and will be apparent to one skilled in the art as the following description proceeds.

Referring to the drawings, it will be noted that this invention is illustrated as embodied in a car having a center sill I!) and side sills Il, which form the main supporting framework for the body of the car. The car body consists of side walls I3, end walls I4 and end slope sheets I5 which direct the lading of the car centrally to the hopper openings Iii shown in Figure 4. Overlying the center sillis the usual inverted V shedding plate l1 and on the outside of the two hoppers I6 are shedding surfaces I8. At the central portion of the car or at the location between adjacent hoppers are shedding surfaces I9, which with the sloping surfaces 2l) depending from the center sill and the abo-ve mentioned shedding surfaces and plates constitute the hoppers of the car. It is an important factor that the hopper openings I6 extend longitudinally and are adapted to be equipped with the primary and secondary door constructions for selectively discharging the lading inwardly or outwardly of the tracks and yet at the same time serve satisfactorily as ordinary hopper cars for discharging lading into the relatively short receiving openings now provided in the tracks at freight yards, coal bins and the like.

Referring particularly to Figures 2 and 3, it will be noted that adjacent the lower edges of the center sill lil there are the above mentioned sloping surfaces Zi! extending downwardly on an incline which are reinforced at their lower edges by angle members 22, against which the main doors abut in closed position. The lower edges of the angle reinforcements 22 lie in a plane disposed at an angle and are determined by the corner points IMI and the hinge axes 24 of the doors 25. Extending from the lower edges 25 of the end slope sheets I9 and the lower edges 23 of the slope sheets l5 there are downwardly eX- tending sheet members 2l' which serve as end walls depending from the discharge openings of the hoppers. These members have flanges 2l at their lower edges which serve as reinforcements and also as sill members against which the main doors abut at each edge when they are in closed position.

As clearly shown in Figure l, adjacent the two ends of each hopper is a downwardly extending apron 30, suitably supported by brackets 3i which also extend downwardly a suflicient distance to prevent the lading from spilling outwardly over the edges of the doors when the doors are open. As illustrated in Figures 2 and 3, these aprons will confine the lading to flow off of the lower` edge of either the main or secondary doors as the case may be in the intended manner to control the discharge of such lading.

Reference will now be made to the construction of the door itself, which is best illustrated in Figures 5, 6, and '7. Each door comprises a pair of spaced transverse edge frame members dll- 4U which may be of any suitable construction but which are here illustrated as angle irons. These irons are connected at one end by a suitable frame part 4|, which may be of any construction but is here shown in the form of a Z bar. In an intermediate location, the frame members 40--40 are connected by a stiffener 42 preferably of the cross section illustrated in Figure 7. 'Ihese frame parts are directly connected together by bolts, rivets or other suitable means and serve as a mounting for the metal sheetor plate 43, which serves as a shedding Vsurface for the main door as illustrated-in Figures 2 and .3. `.At their other ends, members 40e-4B project beyond the stiffener 42, to form a pair of:spaced ends 'between which the secondary door 45 is mounted. This secondary door consists of a metallic sheet or plate member 46, mounted on stiffeners 41 rwhich are attached to hinge straps pivoted te hinge brackets 48 secured'fby rivets, `bolts or `other suit able means, to the stlneners l2. Any number of'hinges may be provided but three are here illustrated inFigure 3.

The outer edgeof the secondary door 45 is preferably reinforced with a bar 49, which may be of Z cross-section as shown. The outer ends of the frame members ,40 are each provided with suitable hinge bracketsr 50 secured thereto by rivets or other suitable attaching means so as to provide a hinge bearing 5| for pivotally vmounting the main door on the 'hinge 24 .as illustrated in Figures 2 and 3. 'I'he bracket is constructed to serve additionally .as a means for supporting a pivoted locking dog `Sly- A which is adapted to engage with locking dog bearing 65 mounted on the outer edge ofthefsecondary door 45.

The main door 25 is equipped at its outer edge with brackets 55 which serve .as connections for a suitable link or` other actuating mechanism 56 which is controlled Ifrom .the operating 4shaft 51 inthe conventional manner. When the shaft is rotated in the proper direction, the ldoor is caused to raise and `be held tightly against the lower edges of the hopper opening. When the shaft 57 is `rotated fin 'the `opposite direction, the door is lowered to discharge `the lading inwardly of the track in the manner illustrated in Figure 2. kWhen the main door is so operated, the secondary door '45 is tightly held 'in its -ciosed position so as to provide, with the frame parts of the main door, the complete portion of the main door' itself. However, as illustrated in Figure 3, the secondary door 45 is equipped with a bracket 58 on its under side which serves as a mounting for the eye bolt or similar means 59. Connected to this eye bolt 59 is a chain or other flexible member 60 which is controlled by a suitable operating shaft El for raising and lowering the secondary door. The operating means for the main and secondary doors are in turn controlled by suitable manually controlled devices which are hereinafter more fully referred to.

An important feature of this invention is the construction of the door itself, which consists of a pair of spaced frame members 40-40 between and below which is mounted a secondary door.

In other words, the secondary door is free to swing downwardly in open position without interference with the frame parts while at the same time all of the frame construction occupies a plane substantially below the upper plane surface of the door itself.

This construction eliminates the necessity for notching the lower edges of the hoppers and also enables the production of a car of maximum capacity. As above pointed out, when the door` frame is located below the door, the end slope sheets oi the car may have their lower edges positioned at a lower elevation than is possible when doors are employed having their frames on top. Due to the fact that the angular disposition of the end slope sheet is selected for its gravitational shedding action, its angularity cannot be materially altered. `With this construction, however, the end slope sheet may be correspondingly lowered and the capacity of the car correspondingly increased.

In this connection, a further novel feature of this car resides in the fact that the end slope sheets l5 and I9 and the outside slope sheets i 8 join to form lower corners for the hopper at 100, which corner lies substantially in the plane occupied by the door when in closed position. When it is realized that the angular disposition of the siepe sheets is selected for their gravitational shedding action, and further, that the elevation and angular disposition of the discharge doors are determined by the action of such doors in discharging the lading between rails so as not to flood the rails, and the further fact that all railroad cars are necessarily limited as to overall dimensions, it will be apparent that increased capacity is difcult to obtain. However the car shown and described herein which conforms to the limitations above pointed out, will have a maximum capacity when the lower edges of the end and side hopper slope sheets intersect at a point llying substantially within the plane of the anguiarly disposed hopper door when in closed position, and at the same time will permit the discharge of lading at all times so as not to flood the rails. f

It will further be noted that the car construction of this invention not only possesses the above described advantages, but also eliminates the presence of the frame parts across the hopper when the .secondary doors are in use, and consequently the undesirable obstruction provided by these parts. Thus, the individual hopper discharge openings not only 4provide for a car of increased capacity with unobstructed discharge openings, but also provide for discharge openings of such limited length that they readily accommodate themselves to the receiving openings in the track now provided in freight yards, coal bins and the like.

Another feature of this car resides in the placement of the control mechanism H0 for manipulating the door actuating shafts 51 within the space between adjacent hoppers, that is to say, in the car here illustrated, centrally of the car. The important result of this feature is the removal of the control mechanism from beneath the end slope sheets with the result that the end slope sheets can be lowered to their maximum position for increased capacity in the manner above described. In addition, the central placement of the control mechanism H0 enables a single operator to control both doors from one location. This last advantage is of great value in the practical use of the car.

From the above description of one preferred embodiment of the invention, it will be apparent that a new and useful car construction is provided which possesses the numerous advantages hereinabove pointed out for it.

I claim:

1. A car of the character described having a plurality of longitudinally disposed hoppers, said hoppers being provided with end aprons, each with a discharge opening, a door construction for said opening comprising a main and a secondary door between said aprons, said door construction having side frame members connected to each other adjacent one end by frame supports and spaced at their opposite ends to provide a free opening and having said secondary door pivoted to the frame support to swing into closed position between said spaced ends.

2. A dump car comprising a center sill and a plurality of longitudinal hoppers on each side of said center sill, end aprons for said hoppers, main and secondary doors for said hoppers adapted to selectively discharge lading either between or outside of the rails of the track, said doors comprising a frame including spaced end members adapted to abut the bottom edge of said hoppers when in closed position, a main door portion occupying a portion ofthe space between said end members and leaving a free and unobstructed space between said members and a secondary door occupying the said space between said end members.

3. A dump car comprising a center sill, end slope sheets and central slope sheets, longitudinally disposed hoppers on opposite sides of said center sill and between said end and center slope sheets, end aprons for said hoppers, discharge doors for each of said hoppers comprising a main door for discharging lading between the rails of the track, and a secondary door for discharging the lading on the outside of the rails of the track, said main door having end frame members in engagement with the bottom edges of said hoppers when in closed position, and a free and unobstructed space between said members, said secondary door being disposed between said end frame members to close said free and unobstructed space, and having the edges of its end portions in sealing abutment with a portion of said frame members.

4. A dump car having a plurality of longitudinal hoppers disposed on opposite sides of the center sill of the car, end aprons for said hoppers, each hopper having a doo-r comprising end frame members each pivoted at one end to said car, braces and a cover sheet extending between said end frame members adjacent the opposite ends thereof, and dening a free and unobstructed space between the first mentioned ends of said frame members, and a secondary door mounted aisasssf between said end members for closing said free and unobstructed space, and hingedly connected to one of said braces to provide with said other described parts, a main door, said main door being adapted to discharge lading between the rails of the track, and said secondary door being adapted to discharge lading on the outside of the track.

5. A dumpv car having a plurality of longitudinal hoppers disposed on opposite sides of the center sill of the car, end aprons for said hoppers, and a discharge door for each of said hoppers comprising end angle frame members having hinges at one end pivoted to said car adjacent one of the outside edges thereof, braces and a cover sheet connecting the opposite ends of said angle members, and dening a free and unobstructed space between the first mentioned ends of said frame members, and a secondary door disposed between said angle members for closing said free and unobstructed space, hinged to one of said braces and adapted to abut the underside of one of the flanges of said angle members, said angle members beingy adapted to engage the lower edge of the associated hopper opening when the door is in closed position.

6. A dump car of the character described, having a plurality of longitudinally disposed hoppers, end aprons for said hoppers, a sealing edge for each of said hoppers at the opening thereof, a door comprising two spaced frame members hinged to said car and having sealing abutment with the cooperating edges of its associated hopper, means defining a free and unobstructed space between said two spaced frame members, and a secondary door pivoted between said frame members for closing said free and unobstructed space, and having a. sealing engagement with the undersides of said frame members, said door and secondary door being disposed in a plane substantially coincident with that dened by the lower edges of said hopper opening.

I DAVID HINDAHL. 

